How Many Jobs from Keystone? It's Debatable

The Keystone XL pipeline project, currently part of Congressional wrangling over the payroll tax extension, is also generating debate over just how many construction jobs it will create.

December 15, 2011

The Keystone XL pipeline project, currently part of Congressional wrangling over the payroll tax extension, is also generating debate over just how many construction jobs it will create.

Lawmakers and TransCanada Corp., developer of the Keystone XL pipeline project, say the project will generate tens of thousands of jobs, but not all agree. Sean Sweeney, director of Cornell University's Global Labor Institute, says the guesstimates are "unsubstantiated," and a State Department study shows the construction workforce could reach 5,000 to 6,000 during the building phase.

The Washington Post presents the partisan stands, then breaks down the facts.